da aviator aposta： With Alan Pardew at the helm, Crystal Palace have someone who knows and understands the club’s values.
da 888casino： Pardew took his team off to Spain last week, as did many other managers in the Premier League, in a bid to rally his troops for the final push. Results lately haven’t been entirely enthralling, but in the midst of a poor run comes success in the cup and an unexpected away victory at Spurs last weekend.
Having sat fifth in the league at the beginning of 2016, they have since plummeted to 13th.
Pardew recently said: “I said to the players: ‘Look, in recent weeks we’ve obviously been a bit down on ourselves and got a bit stressful in games, which I think is part of the reason we haven’t had a result.
“The Cup’s different though. We can still have the best season Crystal Palace have ever had in the Premier League. We can still come higher than 10th, and we’re in the quarter-finals of the Cup.
“At the start of the season if you’d offered me that I’d have took it. If you’d offered it me at Christmas I don’t know, because we were in a great position. But that’s the Premier League, it’s unrelenting and it’s unforgiving.”
The last time the club reached this stage of the FA Cup was in the 1994-95 season, when they were knocked out by Manchester United after a semi-final replay.
But Palace have come along way since Pardew took over last January. There was no sign of FA Cup runs and a chance of a Europa League place then, as the team languished at the wrong end of the league. Since then and following some decent summer investment, Pardew has upped the stakes and the Eagles look a different proposition altogether.
At the beginning of the season, Pardew said: “Look, I know I can set up a team that survives, but grinding out 1-0 wins doesn’t really enthral me if I am honest. I want more than that. I want us to be recognised for playing exciting football.
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“I am more comfortable with the team this year, they understand what I want. I would like to think we could get closer to the Europa League places this year.”
And they can, but a change in fortune is needed to push them back into contention with those above them, but it’s certainly not impossible.
With a team that has some attacking flair in the shape of Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie, when they are on song, their pace and movement is hard to contain for any side. Away wins at Chelsea and Liverpool mean that you overlook the finer points of Crystal Palace at your peril this season.
The surprise arrival of Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer has also given this Palace side a greater attacking threat; with him in the centre of midfield, the Eagles increasingly look for a forward pass.
So what’s missing? It is that essential ingredient that every team wants and they are few and far between – a consistent goalscorer. The forwards this season have been disappointing to say the least and the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor will, through hope more than judgement, mean goals. Hopefully.
When he is on his game, few have a better strike rate, but he is a player that needs to be loved and maybe Pardew and Palace will give him the love that he seemingly craves in order to perform.
With investment from American billionaires, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, strengthening the team won’t be an issue in the future, although right now any initial investment goes into the stadium. But why can’t they lure the big names to Selhurst Park? Johan Cabaye is one name that came to Palace, so why not more?
Looks the like the Eagles are going to be flying high.